Like a Solar Fire
by ChubsTheNoble
Summary: Jim Hawkins wasn't entirely alone on the sail to Treasure Planet. And John Silver wasn't the only cyborg on the Legacy. There was Daniella, the young ship mechanic, who found hope and love where she least expected it-on the journey to Flint's Trove. A journey that will test the size of her heart and the cut of her sails.
1. Danni

A/N: I LOVE Treasure Planet. I've been planning this for quite a while. And since the blue ray version of the movie came out, I was finally inspired to finally type everything up. If it all goes well, I'll continue. Let me know if this is worth pursuing. Can't wait for feedback!

* * *

"Socket wrench."

A pause and then nothing.

"Ted, I could really use that wrench…"

Another pause. More nothing. Then a burning sensation on Danni's hand."Ouch! Not cool, Ted!" Danni wiped the hot oil from her arm with a dirty rag and scooted out from underneath the Terra Shuttle and swept her free hand over her brow, smearing her face with grease in the process. "Let's call it a day, then. I need to pick up another turbo stem to get those gravimetric boosters up to par."

The one called Ted appeared from behind a stack of sheet metal and made a sound like a sigh. "I could have told you that."

"That's funny, then why didn't you?"

"How else will your human brain develop to its fullest potential? Not by giving you all the answers," the floating, orb-shaped drone replied. It was the size of a basketball and coated with a navy blue luster, with the exception of a small digital screen set in the metal where neon indigo bars would bounce up in down as it "spoke." As it hovered, the tips of three antennas of various lengths sticking out of the top of the robot let off of a slight spark.  
Placing her hand on her hips, Danni smirked at her android companion. "I'm so glad you care."

"Daniella?"

The petite blonde turned at her name. A large, salamander-like creature stood at the doorway of her makeshift, workshop basement. It's skin was a dark, withered gray and it was hunched over from age. Although his eyes were wide and watchful, his hoarse voice matched his otherwise worn appearance. "How's it coming, Lass?"

Danni grabbed a clean rag from her pocket and rubbed her face clean. "If I can find the right part, I should have that old Terra in the air by tomorrow." She noticed the weariness set in his features and she gazed over him with concern set in her jade eyes. "Everything alright, Billy?"  
The salamander cleared his throat. "Fine, Lass. Fine." He replied gruffly. "Ye be wise and keep yer eyes open at that 'ol junk mill, ye hear?" His gaze has settled thoughtfully on the one arm that wasn't her own. It had been so long since Danni was left with no other choice than to coincide with cybernetics. The fire had taken her father and destroyed her arm, but it had not left her any less useful. She had made sure of that. But the salamander still felt slightly responsible. If only he hadn't gotten her father involved with the map…

Danni felt awkward under his stare, so she stuck her cyborg hand deep into her pocket, suddenly wishing she had bottomless pockets. "I'll be careful. Always am."

In a very humanly sarcastic way, Ted mumbled, "Hardly."

* * *

The classic motorcycle, (with all its futuristic modifications), moved over the ground with a dangerous grace, leaving a cloud of fine dust in its wake. It was the sting of the wind, the guttural rumble of the engine, the smell of hot gravel-for Danni, it made everything else seem far away. (Except, of course, for Ted, who trailed not too far behind no matter how fast she went.) Constant dreams of a fire from her past ceased to disturb her thoughts, and an empty part of her-the part her father once filled-didn't stir up an ache in her chest. And, for a moment, she forgot how different she really was.

"Sixteen kilometers until we reach the mill." Ted called out behind her. "I strongly caution against continuing at this speed unless the sound of police sirens are satisfying to you."

"Yeah, yeah…" Danni grumbled, slowing down as she approached the base of a steep Cliffside that lined the mill property.

As the motor of her cycle revved down to a steady rumble, she was able to catch another sound-a high pitched whirring sound coming from above. Danni had to shield her eyes from the sun as she looked up to find the source of the noise. "What the…?"

"Incoming Solar Surfer. Sixty-seven miles per hour and closing in." Ted clarified. "Suggest evasive maneuvers."

The drone barely had time to finish before the said surfer screamed past her, it's rider giving off a holler of excitement. The rider, a brunette boy around her age, glimpsed back briefly with a smirk before riding on.

Danni revved her motorcycle dangerously. "How about a little race then?"

"My reading report incoming authorities in three minutes, twenty-seven seconds." Ted warned.

A grin marked the girl's lips. "Just enough time." And with that, she was off after the surfer like a shooting star, leaving even Ted struggling to keep up. The boy looked back again and grinned widely, seemingly up to the challenge. Danni tailed him teasingly from below and he sped even faster. They soon came upon a fork in the mountain side and as they crossed paths, Tessa was able to catch a better glance at the boy's face.

He was attractive, to say the least, with his short, braided ponytail trailing behind him, his adventurous appearance making him look like he was born for the sky. But before she could dwell anymore on it, they had taken opposite paths and the race came to an abrupt halt.

Danni was breathless from the rushing adrenaline. "Well…that was fun."

"Not to mention incredibly reckless and unlawful." Ted interjected.

"Thanks, killjoy. Let's go find that part."


	2. Fire

By the time Danni had completed the final repairs on the Terra Shuttle in was late in the evening. Hunger pains and fatigue had nagged at Danni for hours but she refused to stop until the job was done. She was finicky like that…hated leaving things unattended to. It kept her focused, kept her from thinking of the more unpleasant things from her past. The cyborg part of her made it hard to keep such thoughts at bay. Very recently, however, she was thinking more about a certain solar surfer.

Danni never had many friends, never cared to. Then again, people her age never seemed to be too eager to get to know her anyways. It was something she was accustomed too and frequently expected. The lack of companionship stopped bothering her a long time ago. Billy and Ted were always there, and that was good enough for her.

But there was something about that boy…there was a blaze about him, a fire that she saw all too well in herself. It was inspiring, and it made her believe that, for just a moment, she wasn't so different after all. That was where she let her mind stop wandering, however, and she reviewed the completed Terra Shuttle with little enthusiasm. No one had ever been able to see pass her abnormality and that wasn't about to change. She was simply thinking too much into the matter.

Suddenly, a violent vibration ran through the floor like an earthquake, making the dust shake free from the rafters. Danni dropped her heavy tool box in the confusion, adding to the noise. "What the-?"

"I'm computing an irregular level of pyrolysis on the first floor." Ted rang in.

"I take it that's bad?"

"Is self-preservation a priority for you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Danni exclaimed as another tremor rocked the bunker.

"Lass!" Billy broke through the door, clutching his chest tightly.

When his dark, fearful eyes met with Danni's, she felt herself tremble. It was happening again. She already knew the answer, but she asked anyways. "What's happening, Billy?"

"They're back. They're looking for the map!"

Danni's eyes watered with dread, flashes of a man's empty eyes flooding her thoughts. "Then we have to get out of here! We can take the Shuttle. They won't-oh my…Billy, you're bleeding!"

That salamander's hands were turning crimson where they clung to his chest. "The map! Where is it?!"

The wild look in his eyes terrified her, but she clung to strength. "We have to leave, Billy! I'm not going to lose you too!"

Billy's free hand grasped her shoulder tightly, shaking her with urgent panic. "If I don't get that map now, we're both as good as dead!"

Taken aback by the harshness of his words, Danni could only nod silently. When Billy released his hold on her she rushed over to Ted, who had remained uncharacteristically quiet throughout the whole ordeal. "Are you alright? You're heartbeat is irregular. Perhaps you should lie down."

"Believe me, that's the last thing I need to do." Danni uncovered a small compartment behind the drone's head and flipped a small latch. Behind the little door there was what seemed to be a luminescent disk imbedded into the metal, like the pupil of a large creature. She leaned close to the disk and breathed two words: "Treasure Planet."

"Voice ID recognized. Access granted." Ted suddenly became immobile and the blue bars of his face turned a bright green. The light that expelled below him intensified. There was a sound like a surge of electricity, then from the opening of light underneath, and intricate, copper sphere calmly floated down and hovered in midair like a star in the light of day.

Danni found herself staring. The sphere was precious to her, but she could not let it destroy the only family she had left. She snatched the sphere from the light and handed it to Billy. Ted blinked back to his normal shade of blue. "Did I miss something?"

"That's a good lass…" Billy murmured, his voice far away. From inside his massive cloak, he pulled out a small chest, and wrapped the globe delicately in fabric before placing it inside. A soft click assured Danni that it was secure…for now.

"Billy, how did they find us?" Another blast rocked the house.

Billy took her by the shoulders again a stared hard into her eyes, a flicker of dismay lingering in his own. "There's no time to explain, lass. What's important is that they can't trace the map back to you. These devils won't hesitate to hunt you down like an animal if they realize you're involved."

Danni shook her head, dumbfounded. "But what about you?"

"Don't you worry about me. We need to get you out of here."

Danni jumped as the door exploded in a ball of flames, a smoke shrouded figure towering at the threshold. There were coming for the map. Danni's map.

"Go now, Lass! Go!" Billy began shoving her toward the open Terra Shuttle.

Danni's eyes grew wide as she realized what he was trying to do. "Wait! No! Billy, no!"

With a final heave, Billy had her in the vessel and turned to Ted. "You watch after her, Thomas." He instructed hoarsely. There was a panel of controls on the workbench that he used to send the shuttle hurtling through the roof, sending her off before she could react. Danni's protests were muffled by the crashing of wood as she sped towards the stars. The haunting flames were all she could see.


	3. Coincidence

Danni and Ted had landed on the outskirts of Montressor Space Port. Danni hated it. Everyone was always in a hurry and never too shy to step on someone's toes in order to score a good shipping contract. This time she paid no regard to the small, squidlike alien that collided into her shins, glancing at her briefly with it's many eyes before rushing on. This time she was distracted with thoughts of Billy, and whether or not she still had that little bit of family left.

"I'm pretty sure I'm cursed." Danni muttered wearily. "Or maybe it's karma…all that joy riding finally catching up with me. Careful, Ted. You could be next."

The drone's bars flickered as it replied, "Why do you organics feel the need to place blame on such unseemly conditions? Your misfortunes are simply the outcomes specific events."

A frown crossed Danni's features and shadowed her bright, hazel eyes. "The event being my grandfather was affiliated with one of the most notorious pirate captains and decided to pass down his supposed legacy?"

"Precisely."

Using her hand to shield her eyes from the brightness of the morning, Danni gathered her bearings. They had wandered into the central markets. Colorful, flamboyand booths were splayed about, offering used solar sails, engine parts, rations and even palm-sized model ships. A money-like alien with large eyes and a bow around her neck skipped by, the scent of the fresh pastry she held taunting Danni and making her mouth water. Her stomach growled.

Ted gave off something like an amused snort. "You humans produce the strangest sounds."

Danni watched the girl disappear through the doors of a small tavern and decided to make it her destination.

"And where are we going?" Ted inquired, sounding bored.

"I'm hungry. And I can't think on an empty stomach." Danni said simply as she squirmed past a hulking creature with tree trunk arms. "For all we know, Billy could be a ghost or worse. What I do know is that I'll be damned if it's for nothing. I owe Billy that much. I'm going to get that map back before it causes any more damage…and before I lose anyone else because of it." Her eyes began to sting with tears and she whipped them away distractedly. "Any ideas where we should start?"

"The best hypothesis would indicate that if the pirates have procured the map, that they have left by now." Ted replied. "Your best option would be to investigate any recent casting manifests to track their next docking location."

"That's not what I wanted to hear."

Inside the tavern, shapes of all forms moved about and sat amid scattered tables, drinking questionable liquids from flasks and talking amongst themselves through puffs of pipe smoke. Danni waved her cyborg arm in front of her face to clear the air. The smell of smoke left over from a hot turbine or the smell of hot oil was certainly more preferable. Danni took a seat on the far side of the tavern by a window where a tall woman in an apron met her.

"What can I get you, doll?" she asked, leaning on the table with her lanky limp of an arm.

Danni wrinkled her nose at the pet name. Doll? She had never touched one in her life. Had more fun tinkering with mini solar arrays and customizing toasters.

"Um…" she began awkwardly, and patted down her pockets with a frown. "Just water." A protesting rumble from her stomach made the harsh realization of being completely broke all the more tantalizing.

The waitress gave her an unimpressed look before turning away. "Right."

Danni sighed, propping her elbow onto the table and resting her head in the cool metal of her palm. "Ted, do you think Billy's okay? Really?" She was sure she didn't want to know the answer, but the question swarmed her mind like an angry cloud, distracting her and wearing her down with dread. Flames crossed her thoughts and a shudder ran over her shoulders.

"It's obvious that that attackers assault was premeditated, giving them a significant advantage over our ill-prepared position. I have run numerous diagnostics and the chances of Mr. Bones being unharmed are-"

The bar maid suddenly slid the glass of water over to Danni, cutting Ted off. "That thing's not going to cause any trouble, is it?" she asked quietly, eyeing the drone carefully.

"He's perfectly safe." Danni assured. "Only the protocols I've programmed him with are the ones he follows. Strictly."

The bar maid's eyes moved from Ted to Danni's cyborg arm, her brow raising as if both amused and cautious. "Got some kind of robot fetish or something?"

Danni's features flared and she replied coolly. "No ma'am. Do you have a fetish with being poor with people and overly-nosey?"

The maid glared, opened her mouth several times as if to retort, and finally moved on with a huff. "Robot fetish…" Dannni muttered bitterly as she clenched the glass of water. "Like I chopped off my own arm to be a part of some fashion trend. Stupid, lanky-"

A crash of the doors and a spur of boisterous laughter drowned out the rest of her sentence. Danni turned her attention to the commotion with sudden curiosity.

"I'm telling you, Doc! These blokes are the best of the best!" A spindly bearded creature exclaimed, its three-fingered hand gripping the shoulder of the well-dressed canine alien next to him. They both stood on two legs like a human and while the doctor seemed more sophisticated in stature, the other was gangly and rugged, wearing a hat too large for his head. "Whatever secret venture you're going on, this crew will be ready for anything. Would kill their own mothers if you paid them right! Ha!" The alien's long beard tousled as his rambunctious laughter continued.

The doctor didn't seem quite as enthusiastic and subtly moved out from under the other's hand. "Ah…yes. I'll certainly need a demon-er…decent crew for an expedition of this caliber."

Danni glowered at the pair from her corner. "A secret expedition the day after we're attacked by pirates and Billy takes the map. What's the chance that's just a coincidence?"

"Being that there are several hundred dockings and launches each day, the chances are exactly 49.8%." Ted replied swiftly.

Danni's chair slid back noisily as she stood. "I'll take that chance."


End file.
